Chlorine dioxide is widely used in industrial applications. It can be used as a disinfecting agent in potable water and wastewater treatment processes. It can also be used as a bleaching agent in the production of wood pulp, paper, oils, and flour.
Chlorine dioxide is difficult to stably and safely transport, and thus is most often generated on-site (i.e., at the plant or facility in which it is used). Traditional methods for producing chlorine dioxide use a liquid reactant solution. These methods typically involve reacting a chlorite with an acid or reacting chlorate with a reducing agent and an acid in solution. These liquid-based reactions can be inefficient and typically produce a product with significant levels of impurities, such as chloride, chlorate, and sulfate. Additionally, on-site storage of strong acids poses significant hazards and regulatory hurdles. Pure chlorine dioxide can be produced by employing gas stripping techniques. However, this involves additional costs and facilities and generally overcomplicates the manufacturing processes.
Other methods for producing chlorine dioxide involve solid phase-gas phase reactions. These reactions typically produce relatively pure chlorine dioxide by reacting solid sodium chlorite with highly reactive chlorine gas. Chlorine gas is extremely hazardous and difficult to handle. As such, these methods for producing chlorine dioxide are expensive and burdensome to integrate into manufacturing facilities due to the required regulatory and safety procedures.